Your Hotel –
One Problem, One Solution

So, here you are, with a lovely hotel in a lovely location, spending a lot of time and effort to promote your business; you have a fantastic website that generates you a lot of bookings and you have brochures and other marketing materials that your competition envies. All good so far but then the wanted moment arrives and a potential guest calls your hotel and one of your staff members answers the call...

Are your staff well-spoken, trained to answer even the most challenging queries and remain friendly and professional at all times or is all hope lost?
So often people who are answering phone calls are not valuable representatives of the company they work for; they can’t speak in a way that the caller understands, can’t give good information and answer the caller’s questions and in short they can’t convert the enquiry into a booking.

You have only a few seconds to make an impression. Wouldn’t you like to make that a great impression?

Richard White from Pro Excellence advises:
"I think the issue is that the website and marketing materials creates an expectation of an experience and that the service delivery staff (from the receptionist to the cleaners) can either reinforce the image or create a totally different perception.

I like to think that the non-sales staff are in an ideal position to be able to increase sales both in the short term and long term without having to sell. Part of selling is about looking after your customers so that they want to continue spending with you and recommend you to their friends and acquaintances. its hard work winning a new customer and looking after customers is great for sales. For hotels that means you do not need to spend so much money on advertising and selling off rooms at cut prices.
As the person checks in it is very easy to ask if they will be eating in the restaurant, whether the would like a morning paper, if they would like to take advantage of a special room upgrade... This also applies to telephone queries and it is worth training receptionists to be able to offer additional services whilst they are dealing with an enquiry.

Part of the problem is the difficult line between performing a service and being of service. If you perform a service as a task then you are not focused on the other person. Consider a problem customer not a problem, but a selling opportunity! Solve their problem and they will normally spend more.

And don’t forget – it is easier to recruit the right people than get people to change their attitude..."

To contact Richard and have a chat about how he can help you, please visit his Pro Excellence website, email rwhite@pro-excellence.com or call 01428 651866.